Srimad Bhagavatam — Panchama Skandha, Shloka 5
Varṣa-devatā Worship in Jambūdvīpa: Hayagrīva/Hayaśīrṣa, Nṛsiṁha, Kāmadeva (Pradyumna), Matsya, Kūrma, and Varāha
विश्वोद्भवस्थाननिरोधकर्म तेह्यकर्तुरङ्गीकृतमप्यपावृत: । युक्तं न चित्रं त्वयि कार्यकारणेसर्वात्मनि व्यतिरिक्ते च वस्तुत: ॥ ५ ॥
viśvodbhava-sthāna-nirodha-karma te hy akartur aṅgīkṛtam apy apāvṛtaḥ yuktaṁ na citraṁ tvayi kārya-kāraṇe sarvātmani vyatirikte ca vastutaḥ
O Lord, although You are completely detached from the creation, maintenance and annihilation of this material world and are not directly affected by these activities, they are all attributed to You. We do not wonder at this, for Your inconceivable energies perfectly qualify You to be the cause of all causes. You are the active principle in everything, although You are separate from everything. Thus we can realize that everything is happening because of Your inconceivable energy.
FAQs
This verse states that although creation, maintenance, and destruction are attributed to the Lord, He is intrinsically akartā (the non-doer)—unchanged and unobscured—because He is the Supreme Self beyond material transformation.
They glorify Him as sarvātmā (the Self of all) and also vyatirikta (transcendent), expressing the Bhagavatam’s teaching that the Lord pervades all as the inner ruler yet remains distinct from the material world.
See responsibilities as offerings while remembering the soul’s deeper identity beyond changing roles—cultivating steadiness, humility, and devotion to the Supreme who governs all outcomes.